Leading Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan arrested in Paris

Prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was charged with rape on Friday and jailed in Paris after two days in police custody, a judicial source said, according to AFP.

French authorities say Ramadan is being investigated for allegedly raping two women and could be held in long-term custody while the probe continues.

According to an AP report, a judicial official said the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a formal inquiry on Friday based on complaints against Ramadan the women filed last year. Ramadan has been in custody for questioning in Paris since Wednesday.

After two days of questioning by investigators, the 55-year-old Oxford professor was brought before three magistrates who have been assigned to the case, suggesting that he is facing an extensive investigation, judicial sources said.

The official says Ramadan could be handed preliminary charges of rape in one case, relating to a 2009 incident, and rape of a vulnerable person in the second case, involving an incident in 2012.

The prosecutor’s office is asking judges to keep Ramadan in custody, likely because of concerns he could leave the country.

Ramadan, who is Swiss, strongly denies wrongdoing and has filed his own suit for false allegations. He is on leave from Oxford University, where he is a professor of contemporary Islamic studies.

Ramadan is a grandson of Hasan al-Banna, an Islamist thinker and activist who founded the Muslim Brotherhood. He enjoys a substantial following among young Muslims and has challenged French restrictions on wearing veils.